Dirigible headlight



Aug. 19, 1930. J. w. PEPPER 1,773,467

DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT Filed Nov. 1, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet l anocwto'r/ .JWPE I EI Aug. 19,- 1930.

.1. w. PEPPER 17,773,467

DIRIGIBLE'HEADLIGHT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 1', 1928 Aug 19, 1930. J w, PEPPER 1,773,467

DIRIGIBLE HEADLIGHT l l l lfi ll 'b.

, oirnfwIL'L Ai/i resp te; or :BnownsvILLn, on'rAR-ro, CANADA 'mnreriann HEADLIGHT This invention to headlights for a utomobiles andw more'jparticularly relates to a headlight of that class known as diriglble headlights. l 7 i a One objectof the invention isto provide an automobile with headlights which may be swung'horizontally when a turn is being made'so that the light'jwill be directed in the direction in which the automobile is'turn- 1o ,ing and also to allow the headlights to be swung toward the right or left independent of the"front. wheels ofthe filltOlnObllGfiIid thereby allow the driver "of-an automobile to turn the headlights. toward the right or left 1X; when standing still or while driving along roadiynlt oftenhappensthat the driverof 1 an autoino bilewill desire toobserve conditions-at aside of a road'but cannot'do so as v the lights are directed. straight ahead but by 5' 5 allowing-the headlights fto be swung independent of the-front wheels this can be; accomplished Anotheii'object of the reacted-upon a signboard mounted in an, elevated position where,-it will not befwell lighted under norinal conditions. This will also permit the driver of an automobile to 30 tilt the headlights downwardly in orderto prevent them from shining in the eyes of the driver of an approaching automobile'while at. the. same time allow the road in front to be well illuminated.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a dirigible' headlight having (operating 'means which may be easily shifted from manual control to control by the steering wheel of the automobile without stopping tionf'. H

Theinve'ntion is illustrated in the accornpanyingdrawings, wherein an automobile, a by dotted lines; s

Fig; 2 isafront elevation showin ventionappliedto'an automobile; A Fig.v 3 is aneenlarged view showing the invention is to allow ,the headlightstofbe. tiltedin a Vertical di-- rection so that the headlights maybe 11.

the-automobile if the automobile is inmog the in headli 'ht-o aeratin means rinei all g s P P TX longitudinal section a11d-part1ally in elevat on; 1 Fig. 41s a view showing a fragment of the headlwhbo aeratin means 111 to lan Wltll' fl ig. 7 is a longitudinal sectionalviewtaken on the llIl8 7f7 0fFlg.2;' f.

Fig. .8 isfa' view 'similarto Fig. 7 but taken at right ang lestheretoyand F 9 is, an enlarged view of the lower endpdrtionof one of the headlight posts.

' The improved dirigi'ble headlight niecha nism constituting the s'ubject-inatter of"this invention isadapted, to be applied to an, automobile of a. conventional; construction; This automobil'e',which is'indicated by dotted lines in Fig. '1, includes a" .radiat'or'l mud guards 2 disposed over the front wheels 3." I

and including theusual-aprons 4t an'dcoibventional "steering means for the wheels 3 including a column 1 5 through which eirtends a steering shaft or post 6}jcarryin'ga steering 'wheel 7. p A tubular i casing. 8 I extends horizontally 'in front of the'radia-tor' 1 adjacent its k endsis enlarged to form Chambers 9 which. are substantially circular in "top plan and carry upper-and lowerbearings 10 and 11 to rotatably' mountposts I Q which project upwardly from thecasing and carry head-' lights 13o f' a conventional construction. Eachpo-st is provided withinits chamber 9 with an openframe 14 which projectshori zontally from opposite sides of the post and f' carries rollers l5 and l6' nounted'in recesses formed in the end bars of the frame and projecting from onesidethereof, as shown v t in Fig. 7 It will be readily seen that, when fiig'uref l'is a View showingthe invention in side elevation and inoperative relationto portionof which is indicated the posts are rotated, theheadlightsicarried thereby will be swungfhorizontally from a v 7 position to 'directtheirfrays straight ahead of" the automobile towards the right or left. All aIClLllflS formed in spaced relation to thechamb'er 9 atone end of'the casing for a purposeto-be hereinafter set forth, andhit this'arch carries rollers 18 which extend longitudinally of the casing at opposite sides thereof.

A shaft 19 extends longitudinally through the casing and has each end tapered and engaged in a bearing cup 20 disposed with-,

in an outer cup 21 which is screwed into the end of the casing and provided with a neck extension 22 terminating in an enlarged head 23 and by rotatably connecting the heads 23 with the aorons i of the f ont mud guards, the shaft may be well supported in front of the radiator but at the same time Each end portion of the shaft 19 is formed with right and left hand threads, as shown at 25, and against each threaded end portion of the shaft are disposed slidejbars 26 and 27 which are provided one with right hand threads and the other with left hand threads meshing with corresponding threads of the shaft. It will thus be seen that, when the shaft is rotated, the slide bars will move longitudinally in opposite directions longitudinally of'the casing. Th se slide bars pass through bearings 28 having rectangular openings formed therein to permit the bars to slide freely but prevent themfrom having movement about the shaft, and from these bars project arms 29 and 80 w llCll engage respectively udth the rollers 15 and.

16. From an inspection of Fig. 7, it-will be readily understood that, when the shaft 19 is rotated through the medium of a gear meshing with a'gear 31 carried by the shaft, the slide bars engaged with the threaded end portions of. the shaft will be moved longitudinally and since the companion slide bars move in opposite directions and have their arms contacting with therellers 15 and 16-onearm will apply pressure gainst the roller with which it contacts v le the other has a tendency to move away from its co-operating roller and, therefore, each post will be rotated and the headlights carried by the posts will be swung in unison from position to direct their rays of light.

directlv ahead of the automobile towards the right or left according to the direction in which the shaft 19 is rotated;

A column32 is disposed vertically in front of the radiator and at its upper endis provided with a headf33 terminating in a cup 3% which fitsv about the lower portion of: the casing-8 and together with its removable cap or hoodi35 forms an enclosure or housingfor the arch 17 of the casing; A hollowshaft 36.

away from its cooperating .roller.

nwaeev is rotatably disposed in the column 32 and through this hollow shaft extends an inner shaft 37 which is rotatable independent of the shaft 36 and at its upper end carries a gear or pinion 38 disposed above'the upper end of the hollow shaft and meshing with the gear 31 carried by the shaft 19. It will thus be seen that, when the inner shaft 37 is rotated, rotary motion will be transmitted to the shaft 19 and the headlights swung towards'the right or left according to thedirection in which the shaft 37 is rotated. The upper end portion of the hollow shaft 36 is enlarged somewhat 'to form a head and this head, whichis indicated by the numeral 39,

has right andleft hand threads cut therein, as shown in Fig. 3. Blocks 40 are, slidably disposed inthe head 33 of the column, and these blockswhich bearagainst the rollers 18 are formed one with right'hand threads and the other with left hand threads which mesh with respective threads of the head 39 and, therefore, when the hollow shaft is rotated, the blocks will be slid vertically in opposite directions and one will apply pressure against the roller 18 with which it contacts while the other will have a tendency to move fore, pressure will be applied to the arch 17 r at its front or rear end according to the direction in which. the hollow shaft is rotated and the blocks moved and the casing" 8 will be rocked forwardly or rearwardly and since the posts are mountedin the casingthe posts and the headlights carried thereby will be tilted either, forwardly which will'cause the headlights to be swung downwardly or rearwardly which will'cause the headlights to be tilted upwardly, It will thus be seen that the headlightsfmay be swung down'towards the ground in order to prevent aglaring light from shining in the eyes of the driver of an approaching automobile while at the same time allowingthe road to be well illuminated or the headlights may be tilted upwardly to direct their rays or light upon an elevated sign and allowthe sign to he easily read. It will be obvious'that, when the headlights are swung upwardly, they may be also turned toward the ri ht or left'so that, if the sign is at one side of a road, it maybe illuminated: While the automobile is traveling. straight ahead.

A gear housing 41 is secured to the front lower end of the inner shaft extending downwardly, below the hollow'sha-ft and carrying a small pinion 43 encircled by. a larger gear or pinionet which is fast uponthe lower end There V the shaft 45 is moved longitudinally towards of the hollowshaft. A driven shaft 45 which extends longitudinally of the automobile has its forward end portion rotatably and'slidably received in the gear housing 41. Pinions 46 and 47 which are rigidly secured upon the -43'and44. i

Theupper end of the shaft 52 carries a pinion. 62which meshes with gear teeth 63 formed aboutthe'lower portion of a sleeve 64 slidably androtatably engaged withthe upper end portion of the steering column 5.

shaft 45 in such spaced relation to each other longitudinally thereof that, when the shaft is slid longitudinally, the gear 46 i may be I moved into mesh with thegear 43 or the gear 1 47 moved into mesh with the gear '44 according to the direction in Which the shaft 45 is moved. Latches 48 and 49 are loose upon "the shaft 45 between the gears '46 and 47 and provided with spurs to engage the teeth of the gears43 and 44. These latches are acted upon by a spring 50 which urges them away from each other and normally retains'them in p'osition for'engagement with the teeth of the I gears 43 and 44 to prevent the inner shaft 37 1 shaft 52; is rotated.

and hollow-shaft 36 from rotating. When the right in Fig. 3 to engage the gear 46 with the gear 43, the latch 48 will be moved out of latching engagement'with the gear 43, while the latch 49 remains in engagement with the teeth ofthe gear 44 in order to allow the inner shaft 37 to rotateg without the shaft 36 turns ingwith it and whenthe shaft 45 is moved toward the left to the position shown in Fig. 3

the latch 49 will-be moved out of engagement The driven, shaft 45 extends rearwardly beneath theautomobile and itsrear end per-' tion is slidably and rotatablyreceived in abearing 51 which is mounted upon a suitable portion of thechassis in any desired manner and in addition to supporting the rear end of the driven'shaft alsoserves to ro'tatably and slidablysupport the lower end of an operating shaft 52 which may be referred to as a drive shaft and extends parallel to the steering column 5-adjacent the forward side,

thereof. The adjacent ends of the shafts 45 and 52 passthrough gears 53 and 54 which are heldagainst rotation thereon so that while the two shafts may have sliding movement longitudinally, rotary motion will be transmitted to the shaft 45 when the drive An arm 55 which is engaged with the shaft 52 betweencollars 56 is slidably connected with the'bear1ng51, and this arm carries a forwardly extending ra'ck'57, the teeth of which mesh with a pin ion 58fast upon a shaft 59 rotatably mounted in the bearing transversely thereof. This shaftcarriesa finger 60 which projects down Wardly'therefrom and isreceived in a block 61 fastupon the shaft 45: andwhen the shaft 59 is rot-atedby. sliding the shaft 52 longitudinally the shaft 45 will be slidlongitudi This sleeve is provided beneath the gear teeth 63 with a ring 65 which engages beneath the 7 gear '62 and above the teeththe sleeve is encased by acollar 66 which overlaps the gear 62. Itwill thus be seen that, when the sleeve 64 is moved longitudinally, the gear 62 will be movedwith it-and the shaft 52slid longitudinally to effect adjustment of the gears" '7 i 46 and- 47 relative to the gears 43 and 44, as

has been heretofore set forth. A bushing- 67 which constitutes abearingfor the upper end of the steering post 6 is rigidly secured" within the upper end of the steering column and this bushing projects upwardly from the steering column Within the sleeve 64 and-is formed with circumferentially extending ribs or teeth 68 which serve as a rack and are engaged the teeth formed about the 1 circu-- lar head 69 at the forward end of a lever 70. The pivot 71 for the lever extends through the head 69 centrally thereof and is'mounted in cars projecting from the collar 66, andit willbe readily seen from an inspection of Fig.3 that, when the lever is swung about its pivot, thesleeve 64 together with the col" 'lar 66 will be moved longitudinally. At its upper end the sleeve is formedwith clutch teeth 7 2 forinterlocking engagement with clutch'teeth 73 formed upon a ring 74fast about the hub-Iof thesteeringwheel 7 and 1 by sliding the sleeve longitudinally-upon the steering column these clutch. teeth may be' moved into and out'of operative engagement with each other. When the clutch teeth are in engagement with each other, "turning. of

the steeringwheel will cause thesleeve 64'to rotate with; it and since the gear 62 meshes with-thegear teeth 63 of the sleeve the shaft 52 will be rotated and rotary motion trans mitted through the shafts 45fand 37 to 'ro-' tate the shaft 19 to the post 12.. It will thus ,be. seen that the headlights will be turned with the front wheels in the direction in whicha turn is to be made and the light'die rected in "the path in which an automobile is to travel.v ,By swinging the lever forwardly forty-five degrees, the sleeve may be forced downwardly out of engagement with the teeth of the hub without moving the shafts 52 and-45 forwardly a 'sufficientdistance to release the gear46 fromthe gear:-4-3 andthe lever can .then; be usedas 'a handle to rotate the sleeve and, as prevlouslyexplalne'd, im-

part rotary motion to the shaft'19, There-- fore, the headlightsmay be manually swung to direct their lights toward one side or the road without turning the steering wheel a ditch atone side oflhe road may be illuminated while driving the'car straight ahead or the headlights may be turned to illuminatea sign at one side of the road. When the lever is swung forwardly ninety degrees, the gear 46 will be moved out ofrn =h 'ith the gear l3 and the gear l7 moveo into mesh with the gear d4 so that, when'the sleeve is rotated through the medium. of the lever, the hollow shaft 36 will be rotated and the headlights tilted vertically either towards the ground or to direct their rays upurdlyup-on an overhead sign. I vided means whereby the headlights of an automobile may be tilted vertically in order -toinspect a sign or prevent the driverof an approaching car from beingblinded and have further provided means through the medium of which the headlights may be swung hori-v zontally. independent of the front wheels of an automobile or theqn'iecha in engaged with the steering wheel so that whenever the steering wheel is turned to guide an automobile towardthe right or left the bed lights will be'swung in the direction in which a turn is to be made.

Having thus described the claim: 7

1. In a structure of the character described, a tubular casing to extend horizontally in front of the radiator of an automobile,a hol low vertical column beneath said casing and rotatably supportingthe' casing, a shaft er;- tending longitudinally in said casing and rotatable t ierein, posts rotatably supported in said casing and projecting upwardly therefrom to support headlights, each post including an open frame within the casing disposed transversely about said shaft and havinvention, I

ing vertically disposed rollers v at opposite" sides of the shaft, slide bars, extending through each name opposite sides or said shaft and having oppositely threaded engagement with t 1e shaft to move longitudn nally in opposite di ections when the shaft is rotated, arms projecting fror said bars and engaging the ro lers of said frameto rotate the posts ane lamps carried thereby horizontally, means to impart rotary motion to saidshaft, and means to rock said casing and tilt said posts forwardly and rearwardly. I

2. In a structure of the character described, a tubular casing to extend horizontally in front of the radiator of an automobile, a hollow vertical column beneath saidcasing and rotatably' supporting the casing, a shaft extending longitudinallyin said casing and rotatable therein and having a portionformed with oppositely cut threads, a post rotatably supported in said caslng and pro ecting upwardly therefrom to support a headlight,

images?" slide bars extending longitudinally of said shaft and having",oppositely threaded engagement-with itsthreaded portion tov move lo; gitudinally of the shaft in opposite directions when the shaft is rotated, abutments carried bysaid bars and engaging said post at oppositesides thereof to rotate the post when the bars are moved, means to impart rotary motion to said shaft, and means to rock said casing and tilt the post.

3. In a structure of the character described,

a tubular casing to extend horizontally in ,1l3t1la1' casing to extend horizontally in front of the radiator ofban automobile, a hollow VGlUCEll column beneath-said casing and rotatably supporting the casing, a shaft extending longitudinally in said casing and rotatable therein, posts rotatably supported in said casingand projecting upwardly therefrom to support headlights, means for transmitting rotary motion from said shaft to saidposts and cause lampscarried'by the posts to swinghorizontally, the casing when rocked causing the posts to tilt forwardly and rearwardly and cause the lamps to be tilted vertically, a hollow shaft in said column rotatable therein and having'its upper end portion provided with right and left hand threads, blocks in said column at thev front and rear of said hollow shaft and hav ing oppositely threaded engagement therewith, said casing having side extensions engaging the upper ends of said blocks whereby when the hollow shaft is rotated and the blocks moved vertically in opposite directionsthe c sing will be rocked, an inner shaft r0- tatably received in said hollow shaft and havinggeared connechon with the shaft in said casing, and means to selectively rotate the hollow shaft and inner shaft,

5. In a structure of the character described, a tubular casing to extend horizontally in front of the radiator of an automobile, a hollow vertical column beneath said casing and rotatably supporting the casing, a shaft ex tending longitudinally in said casing and rotatably therein, posts rota-tably supported in said casing and projecting upwardly therefrom to support headli hts, means; fort-ransmitting rotary motion from said shaft to'said posts and cause lamps carried by the posts to swing horizontally, a hollow shaft in'said' longitudinally upon said driven shaft and secolumn rotatable therein, means actuated by said hollow shaft to rock said casing when the hollow shaft is rotated and cause the posts to be tilted forwardly and rearwardly, an inner shaft rotatably received in said hollow shaft and havinggearedjoonnection with the shaft in said casing, 21 drivenshaft slidably and rotatablymounted, gears at the lower ends of the hollow shaftxand inner shaft, gears spaced lectively moved into mesh with cooperating gears of the hollow shaft andinner shaft by longitudinal adjustmentof the driven shaft, a drive shaft rotatably and slidably mounted, means to impart sliding movement from the drive shaft'to said driven shaft, and means to transmit rotary motion from the drive shaft to the driven shaft.

6. In a structure of the character described, a tubular casing to extend horizontally in front of the radiator of an automobile, a hol-' low vertical column beneath said casing and rotatably supporting the casing, a shaft e-X- tending longitudinally in said casing and rotatable therein, posts rotatably supportedin said casing-and projecting upwardly therefrom to support headlights,-means for transmittin rotar motion from said shaft to said shaft and having geared connection with the 'shaft in said casing, adriven shaft slidably A and rotatably m'ounted, gears at the lower ends of the hollow shaft and inner shaft, gears I posts and cause lamps carried by the posts to swing horizontally, a hollow shaft in said 7 column rotatable therein, means actuated by said hollow shaft to rock said casing when thehollow shaft is rotated and cause the posts to be tilted forwardly and rearwardly, an inner shaft rotatably received in said hollow spacedlongitudinally upon-said driven shaft and selectively moved into mesh with cooperatin gears of the hollow shaft and inner shaft by longitudinal adjustment of the driven shaft, av drive shaft rotatably and slidably mounted, a bearing having adjacent vends of the .drive shaft and. driven shaft slidably and rotatably received therein, meshing gears in saidbearing slidably receiving the shafts and held against rotation thereon to transmit rotary motion from the drive shaft-to the drivenshaft, means for transmitting sliding movement from the drive shaft to the driven Y shaft, and means for rotating and slidingsaid drive shaft. a I

,7. In a structure ofthe character'described,

a tubular casing to extend horizontally in front'ofthe radiator of an automobile, a' hollowvertical column beneath said casing and rotatably'support-ing the casing,ashaft ex tending longitudinally insaid casing and rotatabletherein, posts'rotatably supported in said casing andprojecting-upwardly therefrom to support headlights, meansjfor trans to swing horizontally, the casing when rocked causing theposts to tiltforwardly' and rearwardly and cause-the lamps tobe tilted vertically, ahollow shaft in said column rotatabletherein, means actuated by said hollows shaft to rock the casing when the hollow shaftisrotated, an inner shaft rotatably received in said hollow shaft and having -geared ably receiving t-heshafts and held against rotation thereon, meansfor transmittingsliding movement from'the drive shaft to the driven shaft, a steering column, a steering post in said steering'column, a steering wheel carsaid steering columnand having gear teeth about its lower portion and clutch teeth at its upper end to engage clutch teeth carried by the steering wheel, a gear carried by said.

drive shaft and meshing wit-h the gear teeth of said Sleeve, and means to slide thecollar ried by said steering post, a sleeve loose upon I longitudinally'into and out of engagement with the clutch teeth of the steering wheel and slide the drive shaft longitudinally, said means constituting a handle for rotatingthe sleeve when released from the steering wheel.

8. In a structure of the character described, I

a tubular c asing toextendhorizontallyin frontofthe radiator ofan automobilebe tween the front mud guards thereof, aver tical column beneath said cas1ng,sa1d column connected with the upper endthereof, a shaft therein, lamp posts rotatably carriedby said casing and extending upwardly therefrom,

means for imparting rotary motion from said shaft to said posts whereby headlights earbeing hollow and the casing being rotatably extending axially in'said casing androt-atable J 1 ried by the posts maybe turned horizontally, j

shaftsrota-tably mounted in said column one within the other, the inner shaft having H geared conneetion with the shaft in said casi 1 ing to impart rotarymotion thereto, blocks slidable'insaid column andbearing against in opposite directions and rotate the casing to tilt the posts, and means for selectively rotating the shafts in -said column.

. In testimony whereofII afiix my signature. I JOHN,WILLIAM [Ls] mitt-ing rotary motion from said shaft'to said I posts and cause lamps carried by the posts 7 said casing at the front and rear of the col umn, the 'outer'shaft ofsaid column having connect-ion with said blocks to move the blocks 

